First 'Parent Trigger' School Can Stay In District-Owned Building, Arbitrator Rules

The first school in the nation to successfully use a "parent trigger" law can stay in its building after winning a dispute with the school district.

Desert Trails Preparatory Academy, in Adelanto, Calif., began classes this month for the 2016-17 school year just days after an arbitrator ruled that it could remain in the school building, which is owned by the Adelanto Elementary School District, according to the San Bernardino Sun.

Desert Trails became the first school to successfully convert to a charter after parents petitioned to take over the low-scoring school through the 2010 Parent Empowerment Act. After a bitter dispute, Desert Trails and the Adelanto district entered into a charter agreement, which included use of the facility, from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2016.

Adelanto district officials assumed that the use of the school facility would end when the district rejected the charter, according to the 18-page arbitrator's agreement. But Desert Trails officials assumed that they could continue occupying the facility as long as the school had a valid charter, which it now has under San Bernardino County Board of Education.

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